Imitate finally released! (Free demo and new games site)

Well, it gives me great pleasure to finally announce the official release of Imitate!

What is Imitate?
Imitate is the ultimate memory strain evaluation! You will be given a limited amount of tries, an ever-increasing amount of actions (clicks) to imitate (repeat) and a wild array of tricky click object layout patterns and sizes.


And your successes won't go unnoticed with many features and secrets to unlock, you'll even improve your memory while playing! (non-scientifically proven!).

Where can I find out more and try the free demo?
You can find out more at the new Eternal Syndrome | ENTERTAINMENT website:
http://www.entertainment.eternalsyndrome.com/v1-00/games/imitate/index.asp

What's the Features List?

• 1 or 2 Players? Play against the computer alone or with a friend off-line!
• 3 Game modes including Grid and Pattern!
  
• Superb character-like AI including bluffs, diversion tactics and unpredictable movement!
  
• A Selection of Difficulty levels varying the challenge and personality of the AI!
  
• Enjoy and discover a plethora of dazzling scrolling backdrops to aid (or distract?) your imitations!
  
• Unlockable secret content and cheat code access grid system!
  
• Nice selection of fun character avatars to choose from!
  
• Improve your brain without a stylus pen!
  
• Free premium-quality updates & support!
  
• Free premium-quality Emmunity & Forum!
  
• 30 Day money back guarantee as standard!

Where do I get the free trial demo and how much does it cost for the full version?
You can download the free trial demo here! This is the full version of the game and it works for a generous 30 minutes which gives you more then enough time to get a feel for the game and it's different modes and features. The normal price is £10.00 / $19.95 / €17.95, but to mark this event with a bang you can take advantage (good until Wednesday 8th August 2007) of a special 15% discount with this coupon code (just enter it at checkout!): 5580BDAD

Thanks to everyone that aided or helped in any shape or form to the development and final completion of this project including friends, family and fellow developers/users at garage games, indie gamer forum and all the other communities/sites! Thank you all! :0)

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHECK OUT/TRY THIS PRODUCT. DON'T FORGET MANY MAN (& WOMAN) HOURS HAVE BEEN PUT INTO THIS PRODUCTION, SO IF YOU LIKE IT, BUY IT & SUPPORT INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS LIKE 'the E'! IF YOU'VE DONE SO ALREADY THEN GOD BLESS, ENJOY AND THANK YOU! :0)

Imitation Imminent! (Imitate soon suitable for human consumption!)

Hello again all, (sorry, this one's a biggy!)

Well, I've been a bit slack with the journal updates on this project (last entry was just over 3 months ago!), but certainly not slack with the progress of this and other projects!

So the game (Imitate) has finally been tested and played by people other then myself albeit only f's and f (friends and family), and the overall feedback was better then I expected, not because of the game as such, but rather because of the kind of game it is I guess (different from the usual indie stroke casual fair). It seems the improvements (especially in AI) have given the computer a personality of it's own, and causes you to want to beat it (and your opponent) at it's own game! Because it was f's and f, I decided it would be wise to give them no help whatsoever, in the hope that it would be like anyone of you out-there playing for the first time. This was very fruitful (especially compared to 'The Qube' testing session, where everyone would ask me 'Leroy, how do you do this' and 'what button does this' etc, etc) and gave me lots of pointers on how to improve and make v1.00 easier to play.


So what's different from the last blogged version of Imitate and v2.00, well, in short, LOTS! Here's the science part...

• The save and load system is finished and pretty much fully working (still need to fix the quickload). It's a 4 slot (per user profile) save system (1 quicksave slot via F5 key) which allows you to quickly save your game. I was planning to perhaps incorporate the 'casual' game save system (no saving, just maps and dots), but this may delay an already late game and was somewhat unnecessary for this game type (I may switch/add it in an update though).
  

• Game modes have been established and working (3 in all, 1 unlockable). There is no longer a mode that tests your hearing as I just couldn't figure how to make it fly, instead you have Grid (ladder style), Pattern and Mixed.

• If you were paying attention last journal, you'll also notice the backgrounds and click objects have been changed dramatically (I'm saving the pd particles images for another project ;)). There are now almost 2 dozen scrolling backgrounds to enjoy and discover while playing (check out the video(s)). There are also new click objects per game mode to give each mode more identity and visual variety.

There is now also the inclusion of incentives (or bribes) and unlockable secrets to keep you interested and playing. I obviously can't say what these are, but I will say your greatest achievements won't go unnoticed and should you ever get impatient or desperate, you can always try the grid access code input facility ;)

• The unlockable Goodies window will help you keep up with what's locked and unlocked and how to unlock it when valid, also...

• Another new addition is that Trophies are awarded if you successfully conquer a game mode. You also be given difficulty stars depending on which difficulty level you completed the game at.

So the final list of things to do reads like this (no majors bugs on this occasion!):

• MEDIUM: Fix the Quickload function (make sure it's loading all save data)
  
• MEDIUM: Add a check to make sure the Top Mimics file exists so data can be written/checked correctly.
• MINOR: Correct the save status icon showing as valid in 2 player games.
• MINOR: Make sure various message graphics aren't present during computer/player turns.

• General clean, update links and a quick final testing.
• Complete final touches to new gaming division (www.entertainment.eternalsyndrome.com)
• Finalise marketing angles /messages for the game.
  
• Upload to the website and create a dedicated section on website.
• Possibly finish and upload major upgrade of main website HQ.
• Begin marketing /advertising and submission of product.

Of course, some of thee above may be subject to change, so it can be released sooner. The planned release date is on or before July 1st 2007, so be sure to join one of the communication methods below to be the first to know.


Right, that's it for now, thanks for reading / looking, be sure to checkout some of the links/video etc and feel free to leave your comments :0)

www.greatgamesexperiment.com/game/imitate
--- New Invision Power Board Forum (some nice features) - www.emmunityforums.eternalsyndrome.com
--- ESHQ - www.eternalsyndrome.com



--- See another gameplay video and others at ES TV (Gameplay videos) - www.youtube.com/defanual

Just a general update...

Hiya all,

Just a quick update! Loads of stuff to happening, updated the website a little here and there. Added some new stuff and fixes to the blog(s) (see if you notice them!).

Game Dev wise, a few major things have happened, it is now formerly known as 'MiMic' (for avoidance of potential legal hassles and courtesy), from here on out (unless Microsoft or somebody says they've got the name registered or something) it will be know as 'Imitate'.

'Mimic Sound' as a game mode for now is scrapped. Just can't see it working. Also the game mode structure has generally been changed, but I'm still adding and taste testing the final flavours to this recipe. When it tastes right, I'll let you know. The below screenie shows one of the new game modes (pattern based click objects!).

The game itself has come along real well (apart from being sick for a total of six days, on two consecutive weeks, kinda messed up the schedule). In addition to the new name, the computer AI has greatly improved.

The computer now has the ability to bluff clicks, take up random positions and move a little more fluently which makes for a much better playing experience! Also new background graphics have been created for potential use as well as many, many, many (can I emphasise it any more?) bug fixes and clean-ups!

Below is the obligatory image(s) (loving PD Particles). There's probably more stuff, but right now time is filled, so I'll save it for another day, God Bless and later! Forgive any spelling/grammar mistake in advance!

Progress update

Hey all,

Well, I got a lot done today so far including pretty much all minor and major updates on the current version (v3 cycle) of ESO (Eternal Syndrome Online) as well as posting the first official ESEm@il Newsletter. You can get more info about these updates at the news page or forum news announcements section.

MiMic wise, yesterday I finally got TGB (Torque Game Builder) to read my click objects (in this case, lights) and recognise which one was being clicked! This is important, because this now allows me to begin HL and ACT/D (Highlight and Active/Down) graphics processing via changing of the image map and then playing the animation through a ready-made custom function.

It also allows me start on the staple food game play elements such as...

• Letting the computer select objects to click and move the cursor those objects
  
• Storing the order of those clicks and allow the player to attempt a mimic
• Checking if any errors are made or if the mimic was accurate and so forth....

When some or all of these things are complete, I'll post here again to update you. Anyway, that's what I'll be doing after I eat something, but by the grace of God, thus far, thus Good! Later!

New Year, New Blog, New Game...

New Year:

First off, Happy New Year to all and one! And I hope it was a blessing to see through 2006 in one piece (or at least in as few pieces as possible!). 2007 already! Scripturally speaking, 7 is the number of completion, so this year should be a great year for finishing stuff off successfully, at least that's what I'm believing and hoping for ;0)

New Blog:

This is my first blog as you may of gathered from the title and you may of also guessed from the title I'm not just here to unselfishly wish you all a great 2007. It's a new year, but I don't wait for it to make new year resolutions, I do that on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Nonetheless, I do have many plans, goals and ambitions set for the 07, so God willing, this will be the year of the E! And the year of 'insert_name_here' for you!

New Game:

So, now to the game in question. Well, where best to start? I began developing this a few weeks ago now (around 16th Dec 2006). My aim was to get it complete (in a releasable, playable and possibly purchasable state) within a month of that date, and thank God, I'm pretty much on target :0)

The game itself is being developed in the excellent Torque Game Builder (no, I'm not on a payroll), but it started life in another dev environment a few years ago if I remember rightly. Up until now, it's just been gathering digital dust on my hard drive!

Before I get into any more text heavy material, here's a quick screenie to relieve your eye reading and hopefully wet your appetite, then I'll give you some info and a brief description of the game itself.

The game is called 'MiMic' and the aim is to mimic the click actions of the computer or a human opponent by means of what you see or / and hear. As you successfully progress through the levels and stages, the click actions will increase as well as the speed of those actions. Also the size and layout pattern of the click objects will grow and vary!

At this point I'm at the main course of the game (main gameplay elements) such as getting the mouse input working, attempting to move the cursor for the computer to the position of the object it chooses to click at varying speeds and allowing 1-2 players to repeat the action and check that the objects clicked are in the correct order.

Some ideas are still a little experimental at this stage and therefore bits and pieces may be more theory as oppose to definite (trying not to do a Peter Molyneux). For instance there are a few things that can change the difficulty or challenge of the game (modules), such as whether the player is told when they make a mistake instantly or after they've matched the amount of click actions. Or perhaps serving harder difficulty by forcing the player to start all over again if a single mistake is made! (harsh)

Another example is currently game modes are split into the different sense (Sight, Sound and Both) areas, this could change if for instance the sound element doesn't make enough sense or is just too hard.

Modules and ideas like these may or may not make it into the beta/final release version, but nonetheless this won't be known until I hit a few more milestones and have a few games myself.

Here's the brief features (off to top of my head, not definitive) list:

• Train your Brain and have fun doing IT!
• Play up to 2 players against each other or team up against the Computer
  
• Great selection of dreamscape backgrounds (well I thought it sounded good)
  
• Cool custom Click Object layout patterns
• Challenging and varied computer AI
  

Other stuff to come:

They are many other new and great things to come from the E after the release of this game including more games and products, a major website revamp, a dedicated gaming (Entertainment) site giving ESHQ breathing space, a few other new divisions and some new in-game/product technology that's still only in the mock-up / write-up stage, but lets get this game done first huh?

Links and more info:
To keep a close eye on the development of this (as well as future) projects, regularly check back here. The plan is to post updates tri-daily (every 3 days) or less, but mainly when a milestone has been complete. There will also be exclusive screenshots and the like there too so you know where its at! Anyway, Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

More links:
--- GGE 'MiMic' Game Page - http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/game/mimic/